Monday, May 12, 2008

With soaring temperature ,it has been almost impossible on my part to cover any new destination on bike. Morever, there are hardly any places left in a radius of 200 kms from Rourkela that I have not covered barring some places in Kendujhar(Keonjhar). But all those places are reserved for coming Monsoons. Keonjhar is at it's best in Monsoons with green forests; ferocious waterfalls of Khandadhar,Sana Ghagara,Bada Ghagara and Handibhanga; mist covered Mountains of Tensa and Kanjipani and dripping Sal leaves. I just can't wait. Come monsoons, you photographers in and around Pune are going to get a tough fight for your money, I Promise. Tensa and Kanjipani Ghat are going to give a good fight to the Sahaydris and Western ghats.

Kapilas Temple

It was a good 2 day break from the Training Assignments at L & T and going to Bhubaneswar ,one gets a feeling that you are back to good old “engineering” days. Me and good old bhalu..pagala...karana..Dasa left for Kapilas passing through Barang(Baranga) and Mera Munduli. Mahanadi is widest in this region and we crossed it near MeraMunduli. He had some work in Aarti Steel and after finishing we left quickly for Kapilas. We reached Khuntuni and had our lunch in one of the numerous roadside Dhabas present. It was one of the rarest of occasions when I didn’t go for non vegetarian dish. After quickly finishing the lunch, we soon speeded towards Dhenkanal, unofficial “Vada(Medu Vada or Bara as pronounced in Oriya) Capital” of Orissa.

There, you need to take a right turn towards Kapilas .It is hardly 30 kms from Dhenkanal town. Road is quite good and one can also visit Joranda, the pilgrimage center for Mahima cult of Hinduism. Straight road leads to Kapilas Hills. There are two options of reaching the temple situated at a height of 457 meters.One is by a flight of 1351 steps and other being ghat road. Since, time was a constraint we opted for the later one. According to our driver, Kapilas ghat is known as “egara banka” in Oriya meaning 11 hairpin curves. Road was devoid of any traffic and we reached the top in 15 minutes. On the top at least we could see some pilgrims outnumbered by Pandas . After performing the puja,it was time for some photography. Took some snaps but it was frustrating to know that lens was not clean and pictures came blurred.

Resembles a Hill Station....

Over in the top amidst huge Jackfruit trees, it was really cool and the landscape was such as if you feel that you are in a hill station with houses on terraces. Just imagine same landscape in monsoons with drizzling sound of raindrops...damp soil all around....smell of smoke coming from huts on the top of mountains.....and clouds adding to the mystified glory. But... suddenly...came out of the dreams...it was 42 degree below in Dhenkanal...so temperature on top must not have been below 38-39 degree. From the top one can see River Mahanadi way at a far off place and other small small hills.

Ghat Road to Kapilas

Anecdote about the temple is that it was built by King of Puri to pacify the anger of Shiva. He had been cursed of killing a bull and to please Shiva , he went on searching of Ling that he saw in his dreams. After long search, he along with his soldiers reached Kapilas mountains and saw a black cow spraying milk on a Rock that resembled a ling. He constructed the temple there. This is what was told to us by one of the temple priests.

From the top...way in the background is River Mahanadi

There is a rest house on the top built by O.T.D.C and a 4-5 shops for food and other temple related items. Best time to visit---any day when it is there in your fate that you will see lord Kapilas.

Follow by Email

Publications

Book on Birds of Similipal Biosphere Reserve;.................. Book on Birds of Satkosia Landscape;.............................. Saevus November 2014 Issue featuring Similipal;............ Sanctuary Asia April 2016 Issue featuring Satkosia............

About the Author

Satyesh Naik

I love the colour of Khaki, the dust of forest roads, the Sal laden forests and have a strong feeling that our last wilderness will remain intact & will stand tall despite all the odds. Staying in Hyderabad, I day dream of the Jungles of Odisha. At the slightest opportunity given I try to escape into those unheard and unwritten Forests.